I thought of the family of mockingbirds living on my carport and I thought about graduation.
I know, I know.
You think Jason Deal has done lost his mind. That ship sailed along time ago and it is not coming back to port.
But, my point, and I do have one, is graduates can learn a lot by watching the birds. I think they teach that in class like in biology or zoology or something like that.
It’s hard to believe that graduation is almost here again, but the calendar says the annual right of passage will be this Friday.
This time of year always takes me back to a warm, lazy, June evening when I received my diploma. It’s been almost 31 years. Hard to believe because it is yesterday in my mind.
As I was saying, we can learn a lot from the birds.
About a month ago, Mrs. Mockingbird moved in under my carport.
She built on top of the stepladder I had leaning against the wall of my utility room.
She had the framework of a nest built when a gusty thunderstorm came up one evening and blew it down.
Undeterred, she started building a new nest the next day.
• Bird lesson #1: You will face some storms in life and you will face contrary headwinds. Don’t give in. Don’t back down. Don’t give up. If something knocks you down, get up, brush yourself off and start building again.
Mrs. Mockingbird built a sturdy nest that withstood the next round of thunderstorms. She neatly dropped her spare sticks and “construction debris” into a box I had laying in the chair below the ladder. She was very considerate. She laid four eggs and hatched every one of them.
• Bird lesson #2: Build on a strong foundation. Clean up after your own self. If you make a mess, clean it up. A clean place is a happy place. And, store up a nest egg or two. Your plans will come to fruition after while.
While she was tending to her little ones, Mrs. Mockingbird kept a watchful eye on me and anything else that might come near her and her little ones. Mockingbirds have a tendency to be aggressive and in poor humor, but only because something or someone has crossed into their territory.
• Bird lesson #3: Keep an eye out on potential harms and dangers and be ready to take care of yourself and those you love.
Mrs. Mockingbird has tenderly and lovingly raised her little family. She has made sure they were fed, sheltered and protected.
• Bird lesson #4: This one works both ways. Always be thankful for those who have tenderly and lovingly guided you and made sure you were fed, sheltered and protected. In turn, do that for others, whether it is your own family or someone who is in need.
Mrs. Mockingbird was there this past Saturday when her four little babies stretched their wings and took flight. She looked after them even then, trailing them around the front yard of my house as they ventured out on their own. Soon her nest is empty.
• Bird lesson #5: That’s a fitting description of what graduation is. You are standing on the edge of your future getting ready to stretch your wings and fly.
One of the sweetest assurances of Scripture is the fact the Lord watches over even the little sparrow, and it points out, the Lord watches over us.
Class of 2023, may the Lord watch over you and keep you safe always.
Spread your wings and fly high.
• Jason Deal is a staff writer for The Blackshear Times. Reach him at [email protected].
